Princess Irena of the Kingdom of Sale.
In truth, Princess Irena had not been a princess from the beginning. Far from royalty, she had lived a life no different from that of a commoner.
Then, overnight, her life changed.
In an instant, she became a member of the royal family—a princess.
The reason this happened had much to do with the fact that the late king had no heir.
With no successor to inherit the throne, the royal court began searching for those who had inherited royal blood.
But when they could find no close direct descendants, they began combing through even the most distant branches of the genealogy.
And so Irena’s father, Karendia, was able to inherit the throne.
But perhaps that was where the problem began.
Unlike nobles who had possessed family names from the start, Karendia did not even have a surname to inherit.
It was because he was no different from a collateral branch of a collateral branch, one in which common blood ran far thicker.
The fact that such a Karendia received the royal surname for the sole reason that he would inherit the throne was a thorn in the nobles’ eyes.
The nobles, who prided themselves on having inherited blue blood from birth, did not acknowledge Karendia as king.
- Such an unsightly man as the king of the kingdom? This is an insult to the realm!
Going even further, they thought the king himself was a disgrace to the kingdom.
It began then.
The word “rebellion” was engraved in the nobles’ minds.
The nobles clashed with Karendia, their king, over even the smallest matters.
Those clashes extended beyond the king and the nobles, reaching even the young Princess Irena.
“……”
Irena, who had been lost in old memories, opened her eyes.
“You seem tired.”
An enchanting voice came from beside her.
“Ah, Lady Celia. I was just remembering things from the past.”
“Things from the past…”
Celia seemed to think for a moment, then uttered a single word.
“Memories?”
To others, it would have seemed like an ordinary conversation.
But at the word memories, Irena’s expression twisted slightly.
She had been an ordinary little girl, then became a princess overnight.
A child no different from a commoner had entered the royal court, so there was no end to what she had to learn.
Etiquette and dignity were the basics; she studied languages and literature. Then she immediately learned the kingdom’s history and politics.
When her studies ended, she listened to music and learned to dance.
Time to play was a luxury.
Like that, young Irena’s days passed so busily that she could not even rest.
On top of that, though her father had become king, the nobles hated him.
Naturally, that hostile gaze could not help but fall upon the princess as well.
The maids inside the royal palace and the tutors who educated the princess were all connected to the nobility.
Just from that, it was only natural to say that her life in the royal palace would not be smooth.
‘Memories?’
No. To Irena, she did not want to call such memories by that word.
‘Where did it all go wrong?’
Ever since she was young, Irena had pondered that question.
Was it simply because her father was a collateral branch thick with commoner blood?
Of course, to some extent, that was the correct answer.
If her father had possessed legitimacy, the conflict would at least not have grown to the point it had now.
But she thought the fundamental problem lay elsewhere.
‘All of this is because we have no power.’
Even if Father had legitimacy, if he had no power, things would have been no different from now.
The same situation would continue later when she ascended the throne as well.
Irena wanted to overturn the current state of affairs.
To do so, she needed power.
To gain power, she laid her hands on forbidden books.
Demon summoning.
And the result had led to the present.
“Now, shall we begin?”
The voice coming from beside Irena was enchanting no matter how many times she heard it. That clinging voice softly wrapped around her ears, exuding sweetness.
Like a demon’s whisper.
‘Strictly speaking, she is a demon.’
One only had to look at the horns atop Celia’s head to know that.
Even if she had joined hands with a demon, thanks to that, Irena had been able to obtain power.
The demon had not even demanded the princess’s own soul.
Though her supporting forces within the kingdom were still weak, that was not an important problem.
Because she had obtained power far greater than the nobles’ support.
‘Yes.’
The path to saving the kingdom now was not the support of mere nobles.
Nor was her father the answer.
Princess Irena turned her head and looked at Celia.
The wavering in the princess’s eyes from just moments ago was nowhere to be seen; instead, they overflowed with venom.
“Lady Celia.”
At the same time, she declared.
“I will take the kingdom into my own hands.”
“Hoho. You understand very well what that means, don’t you?”
Princess Irena gave a small nod.
A king unquestionably existed.
Yet the princess was saying she would ascend the throne?
In a word, she was plotting rebellion.
It was an act no different from what the nobles were doing, but she had a just reason.
“It doesn’t matter. If things continue as they are, the result will be the same anyway.”
Hearing the princess’s firm answer, Celia smiled faintly.
Then she took Irena’s hand as it was.
Irena also relaxed her hand and entrusted herself to Celia.
Celia gently pulled Princess Irena’s body along. She led her to the chessboard lying carelessly nearby.
By Celia’s guidance, Irena’s hand grasped one of the pieces.
It was the white queen.
Holding Irena’s hand, Celia moved it toward another piece.
“First, let us cut off the nobles’ hands and feet.”
The first thing toppled by the queen was a pawn. But the pawn’s color was the same white as the queen’s.
“We must make them pay first for trespassing upon the domain of the Great One.”
At Celia’s first command, Irena nodded.
“To dare send adventurers into the domain of the Great One. Even dying a hundred times would not be enough for such a man.”
A hint of anger tinged Celia’s voice.
“I will prepare it at once, Lady Celia.”
Irena, too, sympathized with her actions.
The royal family had clearly forbidden entry into the Silent Mountains.
And yet the one who broke that decree was a man named Henrik.
He violated the royal family’s prohibition on entry and even secretly hired adventurers to send into the mountains.
Of course, most of the adventurers who climbed the mountains met their deaths.
It was said that some of the surviving adventurers had become playthings of the goblins.
The adventurers had already paid the price in their own ways.
But that did not mean Henrik’s wrongdoing could be overlooked.
First, the crime of infiltrating adventurers into the domain of the Great One.
Second, the crime of defying the royal family’s order.
Thus, Celia had chosen Henrik as the first person to pay the price.
Irena agreed as well.
As the head butler of the Beerton Count family, Henrik was a loyal retainer who had served the count for many years.
As such, he must possess a great deal of information about the count’s family.
And the Count Beerton whom Henrik served was the leader of the noble faction.
To Irena, the noble faction was a thorn in her eye that she would have to eliminate in the future.
For that reason, shaking the Beerton Count family first would not be a loss. Rather, it would be a great gain.
“No. Since I have come out anyway, I will take him with me, so Princess Irena, please prepare the next plan immediately.”
“Understood, Lady Celia.”
Now she could forget about Head Butler Henrik.
If anything, he would suffer far more pain than if the princess herself stepped forward.
Celia moved Irena’s hand once again.
The queen that had toppled the pawn began moving again.
“We have no need for nobles who have betrayed us once.”
The queen that had felled the pawn toppled the knight, the rook, and the bishop in succession.
Of course, all the pieces the queen knocked down were the same white.
“The fall of the nobles.”
Irena murmured softly.
Had she not followed Celia’s orders faithfully until now, wishing for their downfall?
Now it was only a matter of time.
“And at the very end—”
Only one white piece remained on the chessboard.
This time, Celia relaxed her hand.
But this time, Irena applied strength.
As her goal had become clear, her actions were without hesitation.
Not by Celia’s strength, but by her own, she toppled the king.
“Now, let us spread His will throughout the entire world.”
The sweet whisper of a demon reached her ears.
* * *
The mansion of the Beerton Count family was greeting a hectic day.
After passing through the gardens tended by the gardeners and entering the mansion, the sound of the servants’ footsteps rang out first.
From the kitchen where flames blazed, a fragrant aroma filled the air as the cooks prepared delicious dishes.
At a glance, everything seemed to be happening chaotically, each task separate from the rest, but upon closer inspection, it was the result of careful attention so that everything would be completed on time.
Clap—
Amid everyone’s busy movements, someone clapped his hands.
It was Head Butler Henrik.
“You there, widen the spacing between the tables!”
“This occasion concerns His Excellency the Count’s honor, so I will not tolerate mistakes! Move quickly!”
Henrik’s head was covered in white hair, and the marks of time had wrinkled his face, but there was strength in his voice.
His scarred left eye could no longer see the light of the world, and scars large and small covered his hands, but none of that posed any problem in giving orders.
Rather, there was so much to do that even he, the head butler, had to lend a hand.
It had suddenly been decided that a banquet would be held at the mansion tomorrow.
To prepare for such a sudden schedule, they had to make preparations not only during the day but through the night as well.
That was why Henrik was frantically directing every preparation.
As Henrik moved about busily, someone approached him.
“Hm?”
It was a maid.
But she was a maid whose face he was seeing for the first time.
‘Was there a face I did not know?’
Henrik, who knew everything about the mansion, had no unfamiliar faces among the staff.
But he did not particularly suspect anything.
‘It seems I’ve grown old as well.’
Or perhaps she was one of the new maids who had arrived a few days ago.
Henrik’s thoughts were brief.
For now, preparing the banquet came first.
“What is it?”
Henrik lowered his voice and asked the maid.
The maid opened her mouth with a faint smile.
“The count is looking for you, Head Butler Henrik.”
“Mm.”
Now that he looked, the maid’s tone and behavior were clumsy.
‘A maid who came a few days ago, perhaps. I should tell them to educate her again.’
Still, her appearance was beautiful.
No, it was not an ordinary level of beauty.
He strongly felt that perhaps she would not remain merely a maid.
“I shall go to His Excellency at once.”
Henrik immediately turned around.
Just as he was about to step away, he turned his head.
“By the way, what is your name?”
If she was a newly arrived maid, he would have to memorize her name and face someday. That was why he asked the maid her name.
“I am ■■■.”
“I see.”
After hearing the maid’s answer, Henrik immediately moved on.
It would be rude to keep His Excellency the Count waiting any longer, so he quickened his pace.
Even as Henrik walked, he thought about the affairs of the mansion.
He mulled over everything, from how to finish preparing for tomorrow’s banquet to the conversation he had just had with the maid.
‘She definitely had no surname.’
The maid was probably just an ordinary commoner.
Well, if noble blood flowed in her, she would not have come as a maid from the start.
But Henrik rated that maid’s beauty as the finest.
Perhaps someone among the members of the count’s family might become utterly infatuated with her.
The eldest young master came to mind.
He was the count’s eldest son, a young lord fond of women and gambling.
‘Since ancient times, women are something to be wary of.’
Well, for the maid, becoming the eldest young master’s plaything would not be a bad thing.
It was the sort of relationship in which those without power obeyed those who had it.
That was what life was.
Henrik stopped his miscellaneous thoughts and knocked on the door to the count’s study.
“Hm?”
But there was no response from beyond the study.
He knocked once more, but the result was the same.
“May I enter?”
The count’s study remained silent.
‘What is this?’
Henrik slowly opened the study door.
At the same time, he stepped into the study whose door had opened.
And then, suddenly, he remembered what had happened earlier.
The message from His Excellency Count Beerton, whom he served.
- I will return tomorrow with the delegation from the Order, so make certain the party preparations are thorough before then.
Yes, His Excellency the Count had clearly said that and left.
That meant His Excellency was not currently in the mansion.
Then why had that maid said such a thing?
Could he have returned in the meantime?
But soon, Henrik shook his head.
‘No. That can’t be.’
If the count had returned to the mansion, there was no way he wouldn’t have known.
‘I’ll have to give that maid a proper scolding later. That wench’s name was…’
The problem was, he couldn’t remember the maid’s name.
Having thought that far, Henrik slowly raised his head.
“…Huh?”
As expected, Count Beerton was nowhere to be seen inside the office. In his place, however, stood knights clad in armor.
“What is the meaning of this insolence—!”
For knights to enter His Excellency’s office without permission.
This was a challenge to His Excellency the count.
Henrik looked the knights over.
Their entire bodies were covered in armor, and even their faces were hidden by helmets, so he could not tell who was who.
But Henrik strode toward one of the knights in anger.
“Remove your armor at once!”
Then he pulled off one of the helmets.
“……!”
“Clack?”
What was revealed beneath the helmet was a monster.
“A-a skeleton?!”
“Clack-clack!”
Why was a monster wearing a knight’s armor?
Henrik looked around.
Clack! Clack! Clack!
There was not just one monster.
Everyone here was not a knight, but a monster.
“D-don’t tell me!”
Word that monsters were inside the mansion must not get out.
Of all times, His Excellency the count was currently meeting with the delegation from the White Order.
‘I have to call the knights at once!’
He had to quickly inform them that monsters had infiltrated the mansion.
Henrik turned back toward the office door, but standing there was the maid he had seen earlier.
The maid smiled brightly, but she looked different from before.
The horns on her head made it clear she was no ordinary human.
“You wench…!”
But Henrik was unable to finish his sentence. The skeleton dressed as a knight struck him on the neck.
His consciousness vanished.
………
……
…
It did not take very long for Henrik to regain consciousness.
The problem was that when he came to, he was not in the luxurious mansion, but in some unknown place.
It was a place like a cave.
He might have been flustered by the sudden situation, but Henrik instead shouted loudly.
“Do you know who I am, to dare do something like this?”
This was clearly a kidnapping.
And not just any kidnapping—it was the kidnapping of the head butler who served the House of Count Beerton.
At present, Count Beerton’s position in the Kingdom of Seil was remarkable.
After all, Count Beerton was the leader of the noble faction.
The noble faction was currently a group with as much authority and real power as the king himself.
In other words, kidnapping him, the head butler, was no different from rebelling against the count, who held true power.
Knowing this, Henrik raised his voice even louder.
“I shall make a special exception and not hold you responsible for this matter! So you had best stop this foolish prank at once!”
But his voice only echoed, and no one answered.
No matter how long he shouted, not a single person appeared.
How long had he been yelling?
Henrik breathed roughly and took a moment to clear his throat.
As silence settled over the place, he saw someone approaching from far away.
“Enough of this foolish—”
But when Henrik confirmed what was approaching, his mouth snapped shut.
“…….”
The being approaching him was not human.
It was a massive monster with two heads.
It stood as tall as three grown men put together.
“An o-ogre…?”
Having lived for a long time as the head butler of a count’s household, Henrik knew a little about monsters as well.
Ogres were three-star monsters, said to be creatures that reasonably experienced adventurers could handle.
But this was the first time Henrik had learned that one could have two heads.
And behind the ogre, he saw the maid from earlier.
The difference was that she was wearing an elegant red dress instead of a maid uniform.
“To think you would dare send adventurers into the territory of the Great One. Are you prepared to pay the price?”
Adventurers?
What did she mean, adventurers?
Henrik racked his brain, trying to understand what that wench was talking about.
How many seconds passed?
One thought occurred to Henrik.
“Ah.”
Could she be talking about the adventurers he had secretly sent up into the mountain range?
But he had only sent them to the mountain range.
It was true that he had disobeyed the royal family’s command, but it had nothing to do with monsters.
When Henrik wore an expression that showed he had no idea what the problem was, the woman who had been a maid stepped back.
“Mr. Ogre is a monster brought here by the great being I so deeply respect.”
It was an ogre brought in through an auction at the Demon Realm Trading Company.
“Mr. Ogre, begin.”
The maid—no, Celia—gave the ogre an order and disappeared.
At the same time, the ogre approached Henrik.
“What do we do, Left?”
The head on the ogre’s right side, “Right,” spoke to the head on the left, “Left.”
“Administrator said. Torment human. We follow Administrator’s orders, Right.”
To the question from the right head, “Right,” the left head, “Left,” replied.
The biggest difference between the two was that the left head, “Left,” had only one eye.
Henrik tried to think as hard as he could while looking at this absurd situation.
Since monsters have appeared, this must be a dungeon.
Henrik’s reasoning did not stop there.
Above all, he thought about the ogre before him.
An ogre was a monster with one body and two heads.
He had once heard that while it had two heads, its intelligence was low, so it was not a particularly troublesome monster.
Of course, that was when armed soldiers were present. Right now was different.
“Left, torment human. How?”
“That is easy, Right. Administrator gave us power. Torture?”
“Ooh, is that so, Left?”
“It is, Right.”
It clearly had only one body, yet the two faces were noisily chattering with each other, leaving Henrik dizzy.
To begin with, he had no idea what was going on, nor could he understand why he had to be here, so he simply remained silent.
“Right.”
“What is it, Left?”
This time, the left head, “Left,” spoke first to the right head, “Right.”
“Remember, Right. When we fell into water.”
“Left. That was awful. Dying.”
“Water is the answer, Right.”
And behind the ogre, another being appeared.
“Water…?”
A large mass of water glowing blue was approaching, making footsteps.
It was clearly a water spirit.
But why was even such a being here?
Henrik could only blink.
“Right. Administrator told this Left. Said we can use water.”
“Ooh, Left. You are very smart!”
Saying that, Right and Left shoved Henrik’s head into the water spirit.